Chances are, if you live in a major metropolitan area in the US, you've heard of ride service Lyft. And if you've heard of Lyft, chances are you've heard of their ride-sharing service Lyft Line, where you join fellow riders on similar routes through the city for just $6 a ride. And when you can get from Pacific Heights (OK, fine, the Marina) to Potrero Hill for a measly six dollars, this is the kind of frugal penny pinching that will literally set your cheapskate heart on fire and pretty much guarantee that second to MUNI, this will be your preferred method for getting around town.

I wasn't a huge fan of Lyft Line after my first ride — getting stuck with a self-absorbed blonde Marina bimbo having a vapid Facetime conversation will do that to you. But after my second ride where I chatted with a young, funny and cute guy from my neighborhood, I quickly converted and have since been a huge Lyft Line evangelist ever since. From my fellow passengers, I've learned about new restaurants, heard hilarious stories, even been asked on a date. It confirms something we all know: when we put down our phones and talk to each other, we live city filled with lots of interesting, awesome people.

In Thailand, you hear this funny expression from the locals when they're trying to sell you something that's similar to something else: "same same but different". It's such a widely-used expression that it's now on flourescent over-sized tanks sold at tourist shops and cheekily used to name restaurants and cafés. And it sort of sums up how I feel about myself post-trip right now. I'm same same. But different.

To be honest, this trip had way less of an impact on my life than my two week overlanding trip a year ago in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. That trip was life-changing. Because that was mind-blowing. I flew to Bishkek and met a group of strangers and spent two weeks in a truck camping in the middle of Nowherestan, sometimes in a yurt. It was eye-opening, mostly because I had been in the day-to-day working world rut for so long I'd forgotten how immense and cool our planet was, and how seeing it is way less difficult than we think. It made me immediately crave more adventure and travel, and as soon as I returned to San Francisco, I started cooking up plans of how I might be able to quit my job and travel for a prolonged period of time.